Since you asked for the three most important things that non-programmers should know about, and I’ve spent most of my career working with more non-programmers than programmers, I have a few interesting things that would help.

Number One - It Is Impossible To Accurately Estimate Software Projects

No matter what is tried. No matter what tool, agile approach, or magic fairy dust people try to apply to creating software… accurately predicting software project timelines is basically impossible.

There are many good reasons for this. Usually, requirements and feature ideas change on a daily/weekly basis. Often it is impossible to know what needs to be done without actually digging into the code itself. Debugging and QA can take an extraordinary amount of time.

And worst of all…

Project Managers are always pushing for shorter timelines. They largely have no respect for reality. So, at some point they are given estimates just to make them feel better about planning.

No matter how much planning and estimation you do, it will be wrong. At best it will be directionally correct +/- 300% of what you estimated. So, a one year project could actually take anywhere between 0 and 5 years, maybe even 10 years.

If you think I’m joking, look at how many major ERP projects that go over time and over budget by many years and many hundreds of millions of dollars. Look at the F-35 fighter jet software issues.

Or in the small, you can find many cases where a “simple bug fix” can take days when you thought it was hours.

All estimates are lies made up to make everyone feel better. I’ve never met a developer or manager who could accurately estimate software projects even as well as the local weatherman(or woman) predicts the weather.

Number Two - Productivity Is Unevenly Distributed

What if I told you that in the average eight hour work day the majority of the work will get done in a 30 minute timeframe? Sound crazy?

Well, for most programmers there is a 30–90 minute window where you are extraordinarily productive. We call this the flow state.

Being in the flow state is wonderful and amazing. It often is where the “magic” of building software happens.

Getting into flow can be difficult. It’s akin to meditation in that you have to have a period of uninterrupted focus of say 30 minutes to “get in” the flow, but a tiny interruption can pull you right out.

Now consider the modern workplace environment. Programmers work in open office environments where they are invited to distract each other constantly.

Most people need a 1–2 hour uninterrupted block to get 30–90 minutes of flow.

Take the 8 hour day and break it in half with a lunch break, and then pile in a few meetings and all of a sudden you are lucky to get one decent flow state session in place.

That is why I say that most of the work that gets done happens in a 30 minute timeframe. The other 7–8 hours are spent being distracted, answering email, going to meetings, hanging around the water cooler, going to the bathroom, and trying to remember what you were working on before all these distractions.

Ironically, writers, musicians, and other creative professionals have their own version of this problem and largely work alone and away from other people when they are creating new things.

Someday the programming world might catch on, but I doubt it.

Even if this became obvious, it doesn’t sit well with most companies to think that programmers would be paid for an 8 hour day and only be cranking out code for a few hours on a good day. Some corporate middle manager would probably get the bright idea to have mandatory flow state training where a guru came in and then there would be a corporate policy from a pointy haired boss mandating that programmers are now required to spend 8 hours a day in flow state and they must fill out forms to track their time and notify their superiors of their flow state activities, otherwise there would be more meetings about the current flow state reports not being filed correctly and that programmers were spending too much time “zoning out” instead of being in flow.

Thus, programmers would spent 7–8 hours a day pretending to be in flow state, reporting on their progress, and getting all their work done in 30 minutes of accidental flow state somewhere in the middle of all that flow state reporting.

If you think I’m joking about this, I’m not. I promise you this is what would happen to any company of more than 2 employees. (Even the ones run by programmers.)

Number Three - It Will Cost 10x What You Think

Being a programmer, I get a lot of non-programmers telling me about their brilliant app ideas. Usually they want me to build something for free and are so generous as to pay me up to 5% of the profits for doing 100% of the work.

Their ideas are just that good.

Now, I gently tell them that I’m not interested in building anything for free.

At that point they get angry, but a few ask how much it will cost. I give them a reasonable (and very incorrect) estimate of what it would cost to create the incredibly simple version of their app idea.

Let’s say it’s some number like $25,000.

They look at me like I’m a lunatic, and so I explain how much it costs to hire a contract programmer and how long it will actually take. For example’s sake let’s say it is $100/hr for 250 hours.

To be clear, these are made up numbers and bad estimates (See Number One for details…)

In actuality, to build the actual thing they want might cost $250,000, or even $2,500,000 when it’s all said and done.

Building software can be incredibly complex and expensive. What most people can’t wrap their head around is the fact that a company like Google, Apple, or Microsoft has spent BILLIONS of dollars to create something that looks so simple to the end user.

Somehow, the assumption is that something that looks simple is cheap and fast to build.

Building something simple and easy for the end user is time consuming and expensive. Most people just can’t do it.

So, the average person with a brilliant app idea thinks it will cost a few hundred or maybe a few thousand dollars to make and it will be done in a weekend is so off the mark it’s not worth considering their ideas.

And programmers are too eager to play along with these bad ideas (by making bad estimates and under charging for their time) that this notion is perpetuated to the average non-programmer.

So, a good rule of thumb is that software will cost 10 times as much as you think and take 10 times as long to finish.

And that leads to a bonus point…

BONUS - Software Is Never Done

Programmers never complete a software project, they only stop working on it. Software is never done.

I’ve worked at many software companies and I’ve never seen a software project “completed”.

Sure, software gets released and used. But, it is always changing, being updated, bugs get fixed, and there are always new customer requests for features.

Look at your favorite software and you’ll quickly realize how true this is. Facebook, Instagram, Google Search, Google Maps, GMail, iOS, Android, Windows, and now even most video games are never done.

There are small armies of developers just trying to keep all the software you use every day stable and bug free. Add on the fact that there are always feature requests, small changes, and new platforms to deal with, it’s a treadmill.

So, the only way out of the game is to stop working on software. At that point, the software begins to decay until it is no longer secure or supported.

Think about old Windows 3.1 software or maybe old Nintendo Cartridge video games. The current computers and video game consoles don’t even attempt to run that software anymore.

You can’t put an old video game in your new Nintendo Switch and have it “just work”. That is what happens when you think software is done.

When programmers stop working on software the software starts to die. The code itself is probably fine, but all the other software keeps moving forward until your software is no longer compatible with the current technology.

So, those are the four most important things that non-programmers should know about programming. I know you asked for only three, so I hope the bonus was valuable to you as well.

JAVA Tutorials: Educating yourself in programming

[Sep, 09, 2012] |
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If you are interested in using java tutorials to educate yourself from home, you are probably interested in learning how to tell the difference between valuable resource materials, and those which are outdated or incorrect. Learning to evaluate the quality of available tutorials is both an art and a science, and is best accomplished by paying attention to some of the individual components which make up a quality tutorial. We will take a look at four of the most important:

· Good organization – The tutorial needs to have a well-developed structure, which comprehensively details the content it will deliver, and is very easy for users to navigate. A good organizational structure is indicative of a polished educational thought process, and is more important than you may think in the development of a good tutorial.

· Valuable content – For good java tutorials, the content should be structured around accomplishing individual tasks. It should do so by providing clear instruction to the reader, and be concise and to the point as well. The delivery of quality content is the primary purpose of any tutorial.

· Attractive appearance – Attention needs to be paid to the manner in which the tutorial is presented. They should always strive to be visually appealing and not overly busy, so as to distract from communicating the message. A clean and simple presentation also helps to emphasize the content.

How Would Current Technology Have Altered the JFK Tragedy?

[Dec, 09, 2013] |
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It is hard not to wonder how current technology would have altered the events surrounding the tragic death of John F. Kennedy. On the afternoon of November 22, 1963, shots rang out in Dallas, TX, taking the life of JFK, one of the most beloved Americans. Given the same circumstances today, surely the advances in IT alone, would have drastically changed the outcome of that horrible day. Would the government have recognized that there was a viable threat looming over JFK? Would local and government agencies have been more prepared for a possible assassination attempt? Would the assortment of everyday communication devices assisted in the prevention of the assassination, not to mention, provided greater resources into the investigation? With all that the IT world has to offer today, how would it have altered the JFK tragedy?

As many conspiracy theories have rocked the foundation of the official story presented by government agencies, realization of the expansive nature of technology provides equal consideration as to how the event would have been changed had this technology been available during the time of the shooting. There were T.V. cameras, home 8mm recorders, even single shot-hand held cameras snapping away as the car caravan approached. Yet, there remains little documentation of the shooting and even less information pertaining to the precautions taken by officials prior to JFK's arrival. Theorists consider these possibilities along with how the world would have turned out had the great John F. Kennedynever been assassinated on that day.

iPhone-Siri

[Oct, 27, 2012] |
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One of the most anticipated features that came on the iPhone 4S was a new thing called: Siri. Zooming out before concentrating on Siri, mobile assistants were the new rage. Beforehand, people were fascinated by the cloud, and how you could store your files in the Internet and retrieve it from anywhere. You could store your file at home, and get it at your workplace to make a presentation. However, next came virtual assistants. When you’re in the car, it’s hard to send text messages. It’s hard to call people. It’s hard to set reminders that just popped into your head onto your phone. Thus, came the virtual assistant: a new way to be able to talk to your phone to be able to do what you want it to do, and in this case, text message, or call people, and many other features. Apple jumped onto the bandwagon with the iPhone 4S and came out with the new feature: Siri, a virtual assistant that is tailored to assist you in your endeavours by your diction.

Getting started with Siri

To get Siri in the first place, you need an iPhone 4S; although you may have the latest updates on your iPhone 4 or earlier, having an iPhone 4S means you have the hardware that is required to run Siri on your phone. Therefore, if you are interested in using Siri, check into getting an iPhone 4S, as they are getting cheaper every single day.

Tech Life in Florida

Software developers in Florida, have reasonably great opportunities for development positions in Fortune 1000 companies scattered throughout the state. In town and in reach, Floridians have access to corporate headquarters for Citrix Systems, Tech Data Corporation, the SFN Group, and the Harris Corporation just to name a few.

Belief gets in the way of learning. Robert A. Heinlein

other Learning Options

Software developers near Clearwater have ample opportunities to meet like minded techie individuals, collaborate and expend their career choices by participating in Meet-Up Groups. The following is a list of Technology Groups in the area.

Central Florida Raspberry Pi Users Group · Miami-Coral Gables Open Source User Group · Oracle Evangelists ·

Fortune 500 and 1000 companies in Florida that offer opportunities for Oracle, MySQL, Cassandra, Hadoop Database developers

Company Name	City	Industry	Secondary Industry
Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS)	Jacksonville	Software and Internet	Data Analytics, Management and Storage
World Fuel Services Corporation	Miami	Energy and Utilities	Gasoline and Oil Refineries
SEACOR Holdings Inc.	Fort Lauderdale	Transportation and Storage	Marine and Inland Shipping
MasTec, Inc.	Miami	Business Services	Security Services
Health Management Associates, Inc.	Naples	Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and Biotech	Hospitals
B/E Aerospace, Inc.	Wellington	Manufacturing	Aerospace and Defense
Roper Industries, Inc.	Sarasota	Manufacturing	Manufacturing Other
AutoNation	Fort Lauderdale	Retail	Automobile Dealers
Watsco, Inc.	Miami	Wholesale and Distribution	Wholesale and Distribution Other
SFN Group	Fort Lauderdale	Business Services	HR and Recruiting Services
Tupperware Corporation	Orlando	Manufacturing	Plastics and Rubber Manufacturing
AirTran Holdings, Inc.	Orlando	Travel, Recreation and Leisure	Passenger Airlines
WellCare Health Plans, Inc.	Tampa	Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and Biotech	Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech Other
Lennar Corporation	Miami	Real Estate and Construction	Real Estate Agents and Appraisers
HSN, Inc.	Saint Petersburg	Retail	Retail Other
Certegy	Saint Petersburg	Business Services	Business Services Other
Raymond James Financial, Inc.	Saint Petersburg	Financial Services	Trust, Fiduciary, and Custody Activities
Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc.	Jacksonville	Retail	Grocery and Specialty Food Stores
Jabil Circuit, Inc.	Saint Petersburg	Computers and Electronics	Semiconductor and Microchip Manufacturing
CSX Corporation	Jacksonville	Transportation and Storage	Freight Hauling (Rail and Truck)
Fidelity National Financial, Inc.	Jacksonville	Financial Services	Insurance and Risk Management
Tech Data Corporation	Clearwater	Consumer Services	Automotive Repair & Maintenance
TECO Energy, Inc.	Tampa	Manufacturing	Chemicals and Petrochemicals
Lincare Holdings Inc	Clearwater	Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and Biotech	Medical Supplies and Equipment
Chico's FAS Inc.	Fort Myers	Retail	Clothing and Shoes Stores
Burger King Corporation LLC	Miami	Retail	Restaurants and Bars
Publix Super Markets, Inc.	Lakeland	Retail	Grocery and Specialty Food Stores
Florida Power and Light Company	Juno Beach	Energy and Utilities	Gas and Electric Utilities
Ryder System, Inc.	Miami	Transportation and Storage	Freight Hauling (Rail and Truck)
Citrix Systems, Inc.	Fort Lauderdale	Software and Internet	Software and Internet Other
Harris Corporation	Melbourne	Telecommunications	Wireless and Mobile
Office Depot, Inc.	Boca Raton	Computers and Electronics	Audio, Video and Photography
Landstar System, Inc.	Jacksonville	Transportation and Storage	Freight Hauling (Rail and Truck)
Darden Restaurants, Inc.	Orlando	Retail	Restaurants and Bars
PSS World Medical, Inc.	Jacksonville	Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and Biotech	Medical Supplies and Equipment

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the hartmann software group advantage

why take Oracle, MySQL, Cassandra, Hadoop Database Training with the hartmann software group?

A successful career as a software developer or other IT professional requires a solid understanding of software development processes, design patterns, enterprise application architectures, web services, security, networking and much more. The progression from novice to expert can be a daunting endeavor; this is especially true when traversing the learning curve without expert guidance. A common experience is that too much time and money is wasted on a career plan or application due to misinformation.

The Hartmann Software Group understands these issues and addresses them and others during any training engagement. Although no IT educational institution can guarantee career or application development success, HSG can get you closer to your goals at a far faster rate than self paced learning and, arguably, than the competition. Here are the reasons why we are so successful at teaching:

Learn from the experts.
1. We have provided software development and other IT related training to many major corporations in Florida since 2002.
2. Our educators have years of consulting and training experience; moreover, we require each trainer to have cross-discipline expertise i.e. be Java and .NET experts so that you get a broad understanding of how industry wide experts work and think.
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Save on travel expenses by learning right from your desk or home office. Enroll in an online instructor led class. Nearly all of our classes are offered in this way.
Prepare to hit the ground running for a new job or a new position
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Books and course material are provided in advance
Get a book of your choice from the HSG Store as a gift from us when you register for a class
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